Microsoft launches 'Building Windows 8' blog

Microsoft introduced a new blog and Twitter account to keep partners and customers better updated with the development and progress of its next operating system. Windows President Steven Sinofsky made the…

It looks like it's really geared for tablets and mobile devices. The segment that demonstrated running Excel with your finger wasn't particularly impressive. Also, looks like it would be cumbersome when trying to manipulate a large number of objects.

This looks great. I can't wait for Windows 8 to be here. As far as mouse goes, I believe it is easier to use than finger (precision, no grease, etc). Using fingers, however, would allow for multi-touch (Win 7 already supports that). Very cool so far.

gwailo247 said:
The magic is still missing. Most of us aren't going to be using a touchscreen monitor, but a mouse and keyboard. How does this new UI work with those?

Click to expand...

If you have a keyboard and mouse you would use the regular windows UI (like Windows 7 UI). This one is presumably made for tablets and All-in-one touchscreen PCs. Although, the tablet UI is compatible with a mouse and keyboard if you *really* wanted to do that.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the new UI. It is entirely optional. (Unless you buy a Windows 8 tablet, I don't imagine there would be an option to disable the new UI, because why would you want the regular UI on a tablet? Lol.)

RH00D said:
If you have a keyboard and mouse you would use the regular windows UI (like Windows 7 UI). This one is presumably made for tablets and All-in-one touchscreen PCs. Although, the tablet UI is compatible with a mouse and keyboard if you *really* wanted to do that.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the new UI. It is entirely optional. (Unless you buy a Windows 8 tablet, I don't imagine there would be an option to disable the new UI, because why would you want the regular UI on a tablet? Lol.)

Click to expand...

I understand that, but if you take away the new UI, then you basically just have Windows 7. Why would I buy Windows 8 to put onto my PC if there is no difference whatsoever between 7 and 8? What would be the point of this whole new interface if mouse and keyboard users would essentially not use it?

I know that the new UI is tablet-oriented, and optional, but I still expect MS to show how this would be used by an average desktop user.

NOOO! this is not hardcore and it looks like a smartphone/tablet OS. OMG it looks like an Xbox 360 OS too! ahhhhhhhh. i hope this dont replace WIndows 7 and this 'Windows 8' seems to urge touch-screening. It's not exactly the OS we want for a gaming pc either. For Chrissake continue the traditional windows UI scheme.

Mizzou said:
It looks like it's really geared for tablets and mobile devices. The segment that demonstrated running Excel with your finger wasn't particularly impressive. Also, looks like it would be cumbersome when trying to manipulate a large number of objects.

Click to expand...

Imagine if you have to type a 'nested' formula :rolleyes:

But anyway, for an OS which is still in development it doesn't look bad at all. As gwailo noted the OS is geared towards touch devices, which shouldn't be a problem as long as they give desktop users option to choose which UI they want to have.

This is great for phones/tablets, but I would NOT want this UI on my laptop/desktop. If W8 doesn't give us the choice of which UI to use, then you can count me out when it comes to buying W8. It's not that I don't like change, I just don't like this particular type of interface on my laptop/desktop.

RH00D said:
If you have a keyboard and mouse you would use the regular windows UI (like Windows 7 UI). This one is presumably made for tablets and All-in-one touchscreen PCs. Although, the tablet UI is compatible with a mouse and keyboard if you *really* wanted to do that.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the new UI. It is entirely optional. (Unless you buy a Windows 8 tablet, I don't imagine there would be an option to disable the new UI, because why would you want the regular UI on a tablet? Lol.)

Click to expand...

I understand that, but if you take away the new UI, then you basically just have Windows 7. Why would I buy Windows 8 to put onto my PC if there is no difference whatsoever between 7 and 8? What would be the point of this whole new interface if mouse and keyboard users would essentially not use it?

I know that the new UI is tablet-oriented, and optional, but I still expect MS to show how this would be used by an average desktop user.

Click to expand...

Ostensibly for DirectX 12 support on new video games to try and force upgrades when no one buys it except on a tablet. I really can't think of any reason I'd go through the hassle of buying Windows again.

Seems like Microsoft is saying Windows 8 (or at least some version of it) will run on any form factor(phone, tablet, netbook, laptop, desktop) and processor. Since the new up and coming things are mobile devices Win 8 is showing off features that work well with them to create a buzz. They don't appear to be showing the desktop experience with keyboard and mouse simply because that's not new or flashy and most likely will look about the same as Win 7.

RH00D said:
If you have a keyboard and mouse you would use the regular windows UI (like Windows 7 UI). This one is presumably made for tablets and All-in-one touchscreen PCs. Although, the tablet UI is compatible with a mouse and keyboard if you *really* wanted to do that.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the new UI. It is entirely optional. (Unless you buy a Windows 8 tablet, I don't imagine there would be an option to disable the new UI, because why would you want the regular UI on a tablet? Lol.)

Click to expand...

I understand that, but if you take away the new UI, then you basically just have Windows 7. Why would I buy Windows 8 to put onto my PC if there is no difference whatsoever between 7 and 8? What would be the point of this whole new interface if mouse and keyboard users would essentially not use it?

I know that the new UI is tablet-oriented, and optional, but I still expect MS to show how this would be used by an average desktop user.

Click to expand...

Ostensibly for DirectX 12 support on new video games to try and force upgrades when no one buys it except on a tablet. I really can't think of any reason I'd go through the hassle of buying Windows again.

Click to expand...

To both of you, the reasons for buying Windows 8 even if the UI isn't modified much is that Windows 8 can potentially have better optimization, better security improvements, new technologies like DirectX 12, more/better hardware support and a load of new features (The best reasons being potential new features). None of those things would require a heavily modified UI. IMO I think a new UI is one of the last reasons I would upgrade an OS(Why would I buy the same OS with a different face?). Unless the current UI was horrific, but I think the Aero UI is great already.

While reading these posts I realized that by the time Win8 comes out, Win7 will be around 3 years old, so I see no big deal in launching a new OS. Personally I don't want MS to sleep for 6 years then suddenly one day wake up to do a major overhaul to the OS, breaking up stuff/applications (for the corporate customers) in the process.

The reason for Microsoft's windows 8 lack luster reception has most been
been a giant user interface back peddle, early retro-ing of the user interface
technology.
( raise your hand if you feel clicking a picture icon is /that/ innovative,
I was doing that, and a whole lot more, with my mouse, before
Windows 95 existed).
'reimaging' windows, err does that mean removing features?

when Microsoft incorporated document management into Windows 95,
they took a giant step forward, Bill Gates pocketed his first fifty bill $,
but the user wasn't made aware of the user interface capability of
document management ( scripting, for example, an automatic drag and drop
of scanned documents which are subsequently retrieved for dual window
or monitor database screen entry, ( this was back in the day's before a
document management application was included with
every copy of Windows 95 sold.) ( I bet the vast majority of
Window's user's or developer's still didn't know much about these
features, Trivia time, "The Windows 95 InBox, What was is supposed to do?
( Where was is modeled from?))

The document management software from Microsoft exploded with Windows XP
because document management indexing was made into a service.

However, now, Microsoft is making a retreat, not because they don't
have the true monopoly on drag-and-drop document management but
maybe because Microsoft is still actually forbidden /by law/ to teach
document management software technology as a Windows in-built application.
( what they already knew ( and copied from an elsewhere 90's windows
3.11 drag-and-drop document management software company)
( I created customized drag-and-drop software in the early 1990's,
several years before the Windows 95 debute, ( Bill Gates may recall
a rented battleship in Massachusetts for a World's Greatest Top-Gun's
of Document Image Management ceremony, I was a asked by
a college buddy of Bill Gates to attend, while eating at The
Top Gun BBQ grille, my buddy told me about the end of my
non-Microsoft drag-and-drop document management career))

Best of luck with Windows 8, ( Windows XP is becoming a secret
anomaly of Microsoft , too bad the user's never really understood
it's true potential, ( or did some, well anyway). no need to follow
the engineering tradition of backward compatibility,
just lock their data into a certainly very profitable future for Microsoft,
nothing else matters, ).